ADVERTISEMENTA collection of artifacts linked with President Abraham Lincoln, including the blood-stained leather gloves he worn the night of his assassination, have been sold at an auction in the United States for $7.9 million (€6.9 million).
A total of 144 items up for sale to pay off the remainder of a two decade old $8 million (€7 million) debt that the Lincoln Presidential Foundation used to buy a one-of-a-kind cluster of Lincoln artifacts from a California collector.
The gloves proved to be the most popular item, fetching $1.52 million (€1.35 million) including the premium. One of two handkerchiefs Lincoln had with him on April 14, 1865, the night he was shot, went for $826,000 (€731,000).
A “Wanted” poster featuring photos of three suspects in the assassination conspiracy, led by John Wilkes Booth, sold for $762,500 (€674,72 million), far higher than the top estimated price of $120,000 (€106 million).
The earliest known sample of the 16th president’s handwriting, from a notebook in 1824, fetched $521,200 (€461,140).
In 2012 a controversy arose over what had been the crown jewel of the group — a stovepipe hat, appraised at $6 million, that Lincoln was said to have given as a gift to a southern Illinois supporter.
That story came under intense scrutiny, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, resulting in a 2019 study that found there was no evidence the hat belonged to Lincoln. It was not part of Wednesday’s auction.
The foundation purchased a 1,540-item assemblage in 2007 from Louise Taper for the fledgling Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, which opened in 2005 in the city where he established a law practice and lived while serving in the Illinois Legislature and briefly in Congress.
The artifacts were supposed to give the library and museum, which was rich in Lincoln-related manuscripts, a boost in what it lacked – the curiosities that attract tourists.
But fundraising was slow, forcing the sale of non-Lincoln portions of the collection and threats by the foundation to sell more before it finally extended the loan.
